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Quantum Computers

Quantum computers use quantum mechanical phenomena to perform all operations on data; this is completely different from traditional computers. Both types of computer measure data in tiny one-piece packages; in a computer, it’s a bit, and in a quantum computer, it’s a qubit. But while in a traditional computer that bit can be equal to either 1 or 0 (which represent, on/yes or off/no), in a quantum computer a qbuit has many more possible values. For instance, it has a value for “maybe,” which would be symbolized as a superimposed 1 and 0. That is the simplest possible quantum computer. In practice, the typical quantum computer has a range of values between 1 and 0 as possibilities, just as in a spectrum there are ranges between red and blue.

Quantum computing is based on the idea that because atoms have several inherent state values on the quantum level, these state values can be used to describe data as well. A true quantum computer would set an atom to a particular quantum state, manipulating many different quantum variables. This would act as the atom’s (or qubit’s) value just as ones and zeros act as the regular computer bit value. In addition, the qubits in a quantum computer act as both the processor and the memory, a radically different concept. And because the qubits themselves can entangle with one another and create even more value ranges, the possibilities for qubit values increase dramatically with each qubit involved.

Because of the way they work, quantum computers are naturally parallel, another sign of computing power; that is, they can perform many tasks simultaneously. For an idea of the power, a 30-qubit quantum computer could equal the power of a 10-teraflop computer, which is perhaps a thousand times as powerful as the average desktop computer. Because of the way it runs, a quantum computer has very limited applications today, such as codebreaking; but scientists are diligently searching for a true quantum computer and for other ways to apply them.

Web Resources On Quantum Computers

What is a Quantum Computer?
How Stuff Works: Quantum Computers

Book Resources On Quantum Computers

Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos by Seth Lloyd
Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Michael A. Nielsen, Isaac L. Chuang

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